maalstroom
10-10-2001, 08:42
Recieved my region 1 Terminator SE yesterday and I was very surprised to see that the 5.1 mix has some decidely different qualities from the r2/r4 from earlier this year. Most important differences:
-The use of LFE is severely brought down in the entire movie, for example in the Future War sequences which were a constant throbbing of deep bass and have a far less impact and more subtle use on the new r1 version. The opening white light entrance secenes on the r2/r4 came with some of the loudest LFE I ever heard, the new r1 has absolutely zilch LFE in this scene (which does make it more in line with the T2 sound effect, which also has no LFE during that moment)
-The center channel is far more up in the mix, making dialogue sound more natural than on the r2/r4 disc where it tended to sound out of whack with the enormous amount of effects going on (for example in the first car chase when Reese has rescued Sarah). On the r1 there is much more of the original distortion and brittleness audible in the dialogues, the r2/r4 seemed to have brought down the audio level of the center channel and thereby maybe used a limiter to edge out these distortions which in turn made the overall quality somewhat disjointed: not so in the new r1 version, although the distortion you hear can hear now again is slightly irritating.
-The surrounds are far more back in the mix on the r1, playing at a lower volume. Effects and music sound the same from the back but decidedly less overwhelming than on the r2/r4.
-The overall volume level is also less on the new r1 version, just pop in the r2/r4 and it'll be immediately clear the increased impact there due to the increase in volume level.
So, a surprise and I tend to like the R1 mix a it better: seems more in line with the original movie (the R2/R4 seemed a bit over the top in places) with a more anchored sound design that doesn't jump all over the place. I ahven't had a chance to listen to the mono track yet on the r1.
The image is also a tad sharper with better contrast on the R1, but the differences there are minimal: both sport excellent transfers with good black levels and shadow detail. I'm watching on a 28 inch Widescreen so people with a more serious sized screen might notice more differences there.
I read an interview with Van Ling that he took the time to tweak some things for the new R1 version but he was mainly talking about the documentary and the new commentary during the deleted scenes by Cameron (which is very good by the way). It seems they also had second thoughts about the sound mix.
Any thoughts on that?
-The use of LFE is severely brought down in the entire movie, for example in the Future War sequences which were a constant throbbing of deep bass and have a far less impact and more subtle use on the new r1 version. The opening white light entrance secenes on the r2/r4 came with some of the loudest LFE I ever heard, the new r1 has absolutely zilch LFE in this scene (which does make it more in line with the T2 sound effect, which also has no LFE during that moment)
-The center channel is far more up in the mix, making dialogue sound more natural than on the r2/r4 disc where it tended to sound out of whack with the enormous amount of effects going on (for example in the first car chase when Reese has rescued Sarah). On the r1 there is much more of the original distortion and brittleness audible in the dialogues, the r2/r4 seemed to have brought down the audio level of the center channel and thereby maybe used a limiter to edge out these distortions which in turn made the overall quality somewhat disjointed: not so in the new r1 version, although the distortion you hear can hear now again is slightly irritating.
-The surrounds are far more back in the mix on the r1, playing at a lower volume. Effects and music sound the same from the back but decidedly less overwhelming than on the r2/r4.
-The overall volume level is also less on the new r1 version, just pop in the r2/r4 and it'll be immediately clear the increased impact there due to the increase in volume level.
So, a surprise and I tend to like the R1 mix a it better: seems more in line with the original movie (the R2/R4 seemed a bit over the top in places) with a more anchored sound design that doesn't jump all over the place. I ahven't had a chance to listen to the mono track yet on the r1.
The image is also a tad sharper with better contrast on the R1, but the differences there are minimal: both sport excellent transfers with good black levels and shadow detail. I'm watching on a 28 inch Widescreen so people with a more serious sized screen might notice more differences there.
I read an interview with Van Ling that he took the time to tweak some things for the new R1 version but he was mainly talking about the documentary and the new commentary during the deleted scenes by Cameron (which is very good by the way). It seems they also had second thoughts about the sound mix.
Any thoughts on that?